Dr. X's Free Associations

Plagiarizing to Test The Writing Teacher

Chicago author, Kim Strickland, thought she was getting a raw deal from a writing teacher, so she decided to put him to the test:

I pulled out copies of all my favorite novels, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Breathing Lessons, I Know This Much is True. I mean, Irving, Tyler, Lamb—these guys are the best. My idols. Surely they must be following his secret formula for literary success? It was then I got an idea. One of my wonderful, awful ideas. I copied word for word eight random passages from Anne Tyler’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Breathing Lessons, and handed it in. (Full disclosure: since he already knew my writing style, I changed the formatting of hers. She writes big, long paragraphs. I don’t. So I broke her paragraphs down. I also changed the character names and said it was “a few pages from another novel.”)

Yeah, I know. It was a bitchy thing to do. But I learned more from that exercise than the whole rest of the class. Copying her words, it felt like I was channeling her style, so different from mine and then simultaneously, weirdly, not so very different underneath it at all. I learned there’s no precise formula for writing a great story. Sure there are rules and guidelines and I suppose you have to know the rules before you can break them, but every great story is as individual as the writers that wrote them. And when Teacher eviscerated Pulitzer Prize winning Anne in the same way he had me, I felt vindicated. If in his eyes I'm such a terrible fiction writer, at least I'm in very good company.

Caution: Images in Rear View Mirror May Be Distorted

Dick Cheney discussed his recently released book in an NBC interview last night. Many of the former VP's recollections of events during his time in office differ from the memories of others who were part of the Bush administration. Those differences extend even to former President Bush. That doesn't necessarily mean Cheney or the others are lying. The reliability and objectivity of memory is greatly overestimated by most people. What I find noteworthy about Mr. Cheney's recollections is that he is never flawed in his own memories, but weaknesses and flaws abound among those around him.

The former vice president also denies that his more provocative claims are payback, and he insists that he doesn't care about what anyone thinks of him. But he also says that his revelations will cause heads to explode. Right. No payback there. And no evidence that Mr. Cheney cares about what others may think of him.

These days Cheney is living on an artificial heart pump powered by an external battery pack. How poetic.

Barton Gellman takes a closer look at some of Dick Cheney's "recollections" in Time:

Bachmann: Hurricane, Earthquake are Messages from God

Michele Bachmann:

"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."

Huntsman and Romney are the only non-crackpots running on the Republican side, but Romney sold his soul to the crackpots a long time ago, and Huntsman doesn't have a chance because he's in the habit of telling the truth. And they're both Mormons, which is also a problem, not for me, but for much of the Republican base.

Update:

Bachmann now says her statement was a joke, but considering how many Evangelicals and fundamentalists make similar claims, I think it's forgivable to be confused about whether she was joking or serious. Frankly, I'm not persuaded that she really was joking at the time she made the statement. I've never heard her say anything to distinguish her worldview from that of extremists who believe in a God who uses the weather to send messages and inflict punishments.

Qaddafi, Kadafi, Gaddafi, Gadhafi or Qadhafi?

I haven't posted recently because I've been busy determining the correct spelling of the Libyan dictator's name.

Okay, not really.  I had a minor health issue arise two weeks ago, and I've scaled back my online activity level. I should be back to normal within the next week.

Grade Inflation

InfoGraphic below the fold.

Virtuosos Becoming A Dime A Dozen

Anthony Tommasini, New York Times:

The overall level of technical proficiency in instrumental playing, especially on the piano, has increased steadily over time. Many piano teachers, critics and commentators have noted the phenomenon, which is not unlike what happens in sports. The four-minute mile seemed an impossibility until Roger Bannister made the breakthrough in 1954. Since then, runners have knocked nearly 17 seconds off Bannister’s time.

Something similar has long been occurring with pianists. And in the last decade or so the growth of technical proficiency has seemed exponential.[...]

[Early 20th century] audiences and critics tolerated a lot of playing that would be considered sloppy today. Listen to 1920s and ’30s recordings of the pianist Alfred Cortot, immensely respected in his day. He would probably not be admitted to Juilliard now. Despite the refinement and élan in his playing, his recording of Chopin’s 24 études from the early 1930s is, by today’s standards, littered with clinkers.

These days playing the Chopin études with comfort is practically an entry-level requirement for membership in the ranks of professional pianists.

The Brain on Trial

David Eagleman, The Atlantic:(h/t The Situationist) writes about criminal acts that appear to have underpinnings in neuropathology:

When your biology changes, so can your decision-making and your desires. The drives you take for granted (“I’m a heterosexual/homosexual,” “I’m attracted to children/adults,” “I’m aggressive/not aggressive,” and so on) depend on the intricate details of your neural machinery. Although acting on such drives is popularly thought to be a free choice, the most cursory examination of the evidence demonstrates the limits of that assumption.

Eagleman's essay is an interesting, quick read. And it reminded me of something I wrote a few weeks ago. But I should note that while Eagleman wrote about the effects of frank brain pathology on behavior, I discussed normal brain variations that complicate questions of free will and moral accountability.

A Muslim Mensch

A Muslim in Wisconsin sees Jews and Catholics as natural social allies.

The Gordon Riots

The Gordon Riots (London) were triggered by the proposed Papist Act of 1780. The proposed law would have removed some of the penalties on Catholics that were enacted by the Popery Act of 1698. Lifted from Wikipedia:

March on Parliament

Despite being aware of the possibility of trouble, the authorities had failed to take steps to prevent violence breaking out. The Prime Minister, Lord North, had forgotten to issue an order mobilising the small number of Constables in the area. Those that were present in the House of Commons were not strong enough to take on the angry mob. Eventually a detachment of soldiers were summoned, and they dispersed the crowd without violence. Inside the House of Commons, the petition was overwhelmingly dismissed by a vote of 192 to 6.

Embassies attacked

Once the mob around parliament had dispersed, it seemed to the government that the worst of the disorder was over. However, the same night a crowd gathered and attacked the Roman Catholic Chapel of the Sardinian Embassy Chapel in Duke Street. Bow Street Runners and soldiers were called out and made thirteen arrests, although most of the ringleaders had managed to escape. The same night the Bavarian Embassy was attacked, and crowds caused random violence in streets known to house rich Catholics.

Moorfields

Map of London Wall, Moorgate, Moorfields and Bethlem Royal Hospital from John Rocque's Map of London, dated 1746.

The area of Moorfields, one of the poorest parts of the city, was the home of many Irish immigrant workers and had a large area of open ground where crowds could assemble. Despite the appeal of a prominent Irish merchant, James Malo, to the Lord Mayor, Brackley Kennett, no additional protection was offered to the area. During 3 June a crowd had gathered in Moorfields, and by nightfall it began to go on the rampage. Malo's house was amongst the many to be sacked and burned.

Newgate Prison was attacked and largely destroyed, as was The Clink. This allowed large numbers of prisoners to escape, many of whom were never recaptured. Severe destruction was inflicted on Catholic churches and homes and chapels on the grounds of several embassies, as well as on the Bank of England, Fleet Prison, and the house of the Lord Chief Justice, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield.

Army response

The army was called out on 7 June and given orders to fire upon groups of four or more who refused to disperse. About 285 people were shot dead, with another 200 wounded. Around 450 of the rioters were arrested. Of those arrested, about twenty or thirty were later tried and executed. Gordon was arrested and charged with high treason, but was found not guilty. Brackley Kennett, the Lord Mayor, was convicted of criminal negligence for not reading out the Riot Act and given a £1,000 fine.  The military units which dealt with the rioters included the Horse Guards, Foot Guards, the Honourable Artillery Company, line infantry[14] including the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), and militia brought in from neighbouring counties.

Romney Sowing Religious Confusion

Jimmy Akin, The National Catholic Register:

"Note that I’m not in principle opposed to voting for polytheists. I could see, for example, voting for a pro-life Hindu over a pro-abortion monotheist. But a Hindu does not claim to be a Christian and thus does not risk confusing people about the core doctrine of Christianity the way Mormonism does,"

And I clearly remember the waves of Catholics and Protestants who became confused about their core beliefs when Donny and Marie cracked the Neilsen Top 10.[/sarc]